To Know Thyself
by Angst Splatter
Summary: Abby said it. Leaving, none of them were the same people who crashed on the island. Drabbles on what each survivor of Flight 29 Down gained while on the island and how some of them matured. Exception: Captain Russell, whose insanity was more interesting.


Something that's been hanging over my head in a desire to want to write a good piece of F29D fiction. Please enjoy and I hope it's accurate. I only recently started watching the show again, so this is mostly from my (faulty) memory. I tried not to state who each person was, but it should be easy enough to figure out.

Disclaimer: Seriously? Must I do this every time? I don't own 'em.

~F29D~F29D~F29D~

_Strength._

It was tough sucking it up and pretending everything was okay. Pretending that she could take care of it all. But with Abby missing, Ian incapacitated, and Captain Russell out of it, what other choice did she have?

It was up to her to keep them together and alive, and so she would. She learned to take solace in the optimism she had been blessed with. After all, she really had no idea what she was doing.

It was tough to wait for something that wasn't going to come. She stayed strong, so the others could still believe in rescue.

_Hope._

He was pleasant and happy, but he had always been a realist. When they crashed, he knew that was it. He went with Abby and Jory because he knew them. He was their friend and he was loyal.

After the storm, he was callous towards Jory. He knew they were done for and was angry that she was hopeful when all was lost. Then he broke his leg and he learned what hope meant.

Hope was fighting off despair, telling Jory he was fine, and not wanting to die. Hope was waiting for rescue, and that's exactly what he did.

_Sanity._

You never know what you have until it's gone. Truer words were hard to find.

Beneath the surface, he recognized their scared glances and searching eyes. He didn't even know when he was himself, any more. He'd always known himself to be sane. Impatient and unreasonable, but sane.

Not any more. Memories were fleeting and control was just a word. He never knew what he was doing these days. Barely knew what he was thinking.

One thing he did know for sure was that he was trapped and didn't know how to escape. Was it even possible to escape insanity?

_Determination._

Never in her life had she wanted something more than she did after the storm. Life. She wanted to live and she was willing to work for it. She was willing to make sacrifices.

Before she had skated through life, carefree and diligent. Never before had she experienced desperation as she had during the rockslide. Never before had she thought she might actually perish, useless and forgotten.

She was determined to live, but even more so, she was determined to get everyone rescued. As long as she had anything to say about it, they would get off the island alive.

_Trust._

Who knew that being stuck on an island with people previously unknown would break him down? He was used to being a loner, to having no one.

False hope. That's how he had lived his life, until the incident with the knife. With that, even the precedent of hope faded, and he withdrew into himself.

Who knew that one kind, quiet girl would be able to break down his walls and let the light in? He certainly never expected it. He tried to fight it. But she won, and he learned what happiness really felt like.

He didn't regret it.

_Courage._

She wasn't weak. Just quiet. Meek. Outspoken. Her mom always looked at her with fondness for her kind traits. It's why she got along so well with Nathan. But the island gave her a voice.

She was used to protesting against the unfair for others, but never understood the point of speaking for herself. After all, what did she have to say that was important?

A lot. Speaking it aloud was only half the battle, but it was the important part of the battle. The part that people listened to. And now, it was the part she wasn't afraid of.

_Family._

Family. Something he was tired of being thrown around by. Losing a family member only to be thrown into a whole new family was not how he thought a family should work.

Books were good, as was learning. He liked immersing himself in the world of knowledge. Knowledge was concrete. Something he could control, instead of the other way around.

Daley was different, though. She was strong and confident. It was sad, that only through his anger could he see how much she cared. But it had brought them closer together and he was just glad to have family again.

_Vulnerability._

She was used to having things her way. She was in control and everyone knew that. She made sure they did. Of course, some things were unpredictable. That was life.

Never before had it hurt her so much. Never before had things unplanned been her fault. She always had a plan, even if she had improvised one last minute.

Now she knew. Some things were just destined to happen, no matter how hard she tried to stop them. But really, was that such a bad thing? Could good not come from mistakes?

In the past, she would have said no.

_Usefulness._

It was tough, having everything done for you. It meant that you didn't know how to survive in the real world. It meant when you crashed on an abandoned island, people mocked you for being useless and snuck cruel looks.

She tried so hard. She really did. She hadn't known that she had the determination to persevere and learn how to survive on her own, not being able to draw on past experiences like the others.

It was kind of surprising how content she could be when she had to lift a finger to work. Being useful had its merits.

_Dependence._

All he wanted was freedom. Independence. To be able to do what he wanted, when he wanted. To be his own person. Was that really too much to ask?

Apparently. And when he did what he thought he should be able to do, they called it acting out. He was asserting his independence. He was a good kid who only desired freedom from authority.

The more he flailed about, though, the more he realized that he wasn't alone. He needed people and they needed him. How else was life going to be interesting if there wasn't anyone to scheme against?

_Worth._

He didn't know why he did it. He couldn't be worthless. The ones who spoke those words said them only in drunken anger. Still, he did his best to do better and prove that he was successful.

Just a few words of encouragement went a long way. When others wouldn't satisfy, he told himself out loud how appreciated and skillful he was.

He struggled on the island, trying to do everything at once, to prove to a whole new group of people that he was dependable. It's just too bad that he couldn't see sooner that they already trusted him.

~F29D~F29D~F29D~

Well. I forgot how much of a challenge drabbles could be. I hope that each drabble sounds like them and I managed to make them all touching in some way. Concrit is always welcomed.


End file.
